This is a fun little experiment I've been meaning to try for a while, set up a domestic Soviet airline that exclusively uses locally made aircraft. So far I am based in Moscow-Domodedovo operating six Tu-134As no more than five years old on mostly short hops. One of them is configured with 3 business seats for the small VIP demand on the longer Ekaterinburg route. I will be launching the Tu-134B next year with seven orders already on the books.

Aside from the obvious lack of profitability inherent in any communist designed aircraft, right now I believe my main challenge will be keeping the production lines open. It's likely that I'm going to end up using all of the variants of any fleet type I choose as production lines open and close. Slim profit margins make ownership unlikely any time soon. I might add a couple more 134As in the mean time but for the most part I will be taking this slowly and carefully.

Further developments such as my inevitable multitude of bankruptcy restarts will be posted here.

Funny - I'm doing the same (based at Vilnius), although with the main goal of filling all the shorthaul demand to all over Europe after the fall of the iron curtain. So the time now till then is basically "saving up" - and it seems to work so far.

Still strange paying the triple amount for fuel for a few PAX less and much shorter range (An-24/26 vs. F27)...

I had a short experiment with this myself, with an airline based in Kiev, in another game. This type of 'experiment' is one of the things that attracts me to this game.

The obvious problem is that there is no embargo (in communist times), or heavy taxes (in early capitalist days) on importing foreign aircraft. Certainly at the current time of this game it would not be realistic for a USSR based operator to be using western types. Given the vast and unique nature of the USSR could this not be used in the game model? Some form of restriction in this area.

Indeed I think there needs to be a way of programming in a benefit for using home built types for all national airlines. French airlines used the Dassault Mercure; BOAC / BA got the Comet, VC-10, Trident etc. In reality they were not used in competition with 'better' types in the same way as can be done here.

There was talk of trying to allow a 'proper' Soviet airline as a few others tried and did not succeed. I think there was a TU-134 based airline for a fair old while a couple of years ago and also the IL-18 seems to perform well.

Update:$2million in the bank, 10 Tu-134Bs on order and still 6 Tu-134As in the air. LF at 70% with acceptable profits, CI at 34 and rising steadily with a national ad campaign. The lone plane with C-Class seating is filling them. Slow and steady.

Update: Some like-minded individuals have formed the Red Star Alliance dedicated to Soviet aircraft. Together we just might get a lot more of these birds in the air. In my case, I am focused on the Tu-134B for the moment with some consideration towards the Yak-42 when it comes out in 1980. Profits have been excellent recently, the best I've yet seen so far in my career with so few planes.

Continuing the slow and steady expansion model, I now have over $7million in the bank. I intend to always maintain a fair amount of cash on hand to avoid any trouble with the notorious Soviet maintenance fees. So far the C-Checks on my used Tu-104A's have not been any trouble.

I'm just above break even right now it would seem though my recent losses are mostly C-Check related. This economic crisis began right when many of my planes were due. I've been keeping a good cash reserve but I am currently spending that trying to get more owned planes in the air. It could cost me my future expansion plans but I need more income as soon as possible so I can't wait for new planes to come out.

It's mainly the planes with the more expensive leases that are hurting me, most of the owned ones are still very profitable. I'm also grateful for that launch customer discount I got on the first seven Tu-134Bs ever built.

I'm clearly the flagship of Red Star so I've got to hang on as long as possible.